Education News: May 23, 2008

Following are some of the top headlines from the world of education for the week ending May 23, 2008.

Border Schools Get Tough on Mexican Students
(Source: The Christian Science Monitor, 5/23/08):  Schools in Calexico and San Diego, California, are becoming more strict about making sure that students actually reside in the U.S. and are not crossing the U.S.-Mexico border each day to come to school.  Previously, they were not as concerned about this, but classroom overcrowding and the lower standardized test scores of Mexican students due to lesser English abilities have led to a crackdown.

Education Agency’s Plan Shores Up Market for Loans to College Students
(Source: The New York Times, 5/22/08):  U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has announced a plan for the government to buy college loans from private lenders, such as Sallie Mae, so that students can continue to receive financial aid and stay in school.  The move was necessary because student lending companies are becoming unable to provide student loans profitably due to current economic troubles.

State Curriculum on Legalities of Parenting Coming to Texas High Schools this Fall
(Source:  The Dallas Morning News, 5/22/08):  A program on parenting and paternity awareness created by the Texas attorney general’s office will become a required part of the state’s high school curriculum starting this fall.  The program, which will be a part of health courses, will both outline important legal issues surrounding parenthood and urge teens to make responsible choices.

Nearly 9,000 in South Florida Could Fail Third Grade
(Source: The Miami Herald, 5/21/08):  Almost 9,000 third graders in South Florida, which amounts to nearly one in five, failed to receive a passing score on the reading portion of the FCAT, the end-of-year standardized test for students.  A score of two out of five or better on the reading FCAT is required for promotion to fourth grade in Florida, and while some of the failing students may successfully pursue other avenues for earning grade promotion, many stand to repeat third grade.

Georgia Throws Out Some Standardized Test Results
(Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/21/08):  Unexpectedly awful scores on Georgia’s new standardized tests for middle schoolers have led state schools superintendent Kathy Cox to throw out the results of the social studies tests, though parents and education officials are still searching for an explanation of what went wrong with the math exam, which was failed by about 40 percent of Georgia eighth graders.  Currently, it is unclear whether the new curriculum, the new tests, or both are to blame.

Inertia at the Top
(Source:  The Washington Post, 5/19/08):  European countries such as France, Spain, and Great Britain are doing far more to combat childhood obesity than the United States, according to health experts.  While the growing problem of childhood obesity in the United States has received a lot of media coverage, the federal government’s response has been fragmented and under-funded.

Great Education Debate: Reforming the Grade System
(Source:  USA Today, 5/18/08):  Some schools are experimenting with a policy in which the lowest possible numerical grade is a 50 (out of 100) rather than a zero.  The purpose of this policy is so that students who receive a failing grade during a given grading period would still have a chance to pull their grade up above a 60 and pass if they buckle down.  This approach, however, has generated controversy as critics contend that it allows students to pass classes with even less effort.